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Culture War Roundup for the week of October 10, 2022

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Somewhere downthread, Kanye West was said to have written some of the best wordplay of the past few decades. Could anyone cite some examples? (ideally text rather than video links)

The song is somewhat cliche at this point, but I really like Pinocchio Story from the album 808s and Heartbreak. It's a live recording and Kanye is difficult to hear and understand over the screams of the crowd, but he raps about how he just wants happiness and a normal life, and somehow all the fame and fortune has made everything worse:

Do you think I'd sacrifice real life

For all the fame and flashing lights?

There is no Gucci I can buy

There is no Louis Vuitton to put on

There is no YSL that they could sell

To get my heart out of this hell and my mind out of this jail

There is no clothes that I could buy

That could turn back the time

There is no vacation spot I could fly

That could bring back a piece of real life.

The contrast between Kanye singing about how he wants to experience real life and real love with the screams of the fans proclaiming their love for him is really fascinating and you can hear in the reality of the live performance how all the fans and the fame ... just isn't a substitute for what he's really looking for. It's a wonderful example of how form / function can work together in a piece of music. You don't have to just listen to Kanye explain how the fame isn't getting him happiness -- you can hear the fans screaming "I LOVE YOU KANYE" as he sings about how he can't find real love and how he lost the only real love he'd ever had... I think it's a beautiful song, personally.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=OeCdG0Mzrkw